Hawke's Bay company awarded tender to build new police station

The present Hastings Police station, on Railway Rd, Hastings. Photo / File

Local building company MCL Construction Ltd will build the new Eastern District Headquarters and Hastings Police Station, police announced today.

The tender process began in September, and construction of the three-storey facility will begin with the demolition of the old courthouse building on the corner of Railway Road and Eastbourne Street.

The project was set to begin in April and was due to be completed mid to late next year.

Once this building was finished, the old Hastings Police Station would be demolished for secure police parking.

Eastern District Commander Superintendent Tania Kura said it was great to have a Hawke's Bay company leading the build.

"We are rapt to be working with a local company which is also a keen supporter of our community."

"The Hastings District Council has also helped us greatly throughout the process," she said.

"Our Hawke's Bay staff are very lucky to have a brand new facility in Napier (opened in December 2016) that will be complimented by another purpose-built modern facility in Hastings."

MCL Managing director John Bower said MCL was extremely proud and excited to have been awarded the contract for construction of the new building, saying it would be a landmark project for the company.

"The site manager for the build Mark Adams also has family links to police.

"His father J R Adams was an officer based out of the original Hastings station for 30 years, so there is a real sense of continuity between MCL and this new station."

"We are very proud to put our mark on the Hawke's Bay landscape, the design of the building allows streamlined interaction between the public and Police with an emphasis on engaging the public to further strengthen community ties," he said.

Hastings Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst said the announcement was an exciting milestone.

"We have been working in partnership with the New Zealand Police for the last two years to bring this project to fruition, and we look forward to continuing to work closely as the project moves into the physical works stage."

"The addition of a $19.8 million investment is enormously positive for our Hastings city centre and we are hugely excited about the extra vibrancy this significant investment will bring," she said.